substance abuse Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Healing Flood Memories Through Music And Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, even after the waters recede, they still can still leave a mark. We hear a story about a flood and the song Muddy Water by Allan “Cathead” Johnson, as well as our Song of the Week.

On this West Virginia Morning, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has awarded a contract to an out of state company to demolish the former Ohio Valley Medical Center, and virtual Town Hall meetings on the West Virginia 2024 Substance Abuse plan will be hosted by the DHHR.

Also in this show, a preview of this week’s Inside Appalachia looks at flooding. Even after the waters recede, they still can still leave a mark. Connie Kitts brings us a story about a flood and the song Muddy Water by Allan “Cathead” Johnson.

Finally, this week’s rebroadcast of Mountain Stage features our landmark 1,000th episode of Mountain Stage. Slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth and legend of the dobro and lap steel Cindy Cashdollar perform a fiery duo set. Our Song of the Week comes from Landreth and Cashdollar. We listen to “Prodigal Son,” the title track to Landreth’s 2004 album of the same name.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from CAMC and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Delaney Wells, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.

Teresa Wills is our host.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

DHHR Announces Virtual Town Hall Meetings On W.Va. Substance Abuse Plan

The virtual meetings will solicit feedback from members of the public on the development of the West Virginia Substance Abuse Plan. It will also highlight progress on the 2023 plan.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Office of Drug Control Policy and the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment will host four virtual town hall meetings beginning in August.

The virtual meetings will solicit feedback from members of the public on the development of the West Virginia Substance Abuse Plan. It will also highlight progress on the 2023 plan.

The meetings will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the following dates:

Tuesday, Aug. 15
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Wednesday, Aug. 23
Thursday, Aug. 31

Each meeting will offer breakout sessions for all eight sections of the plan. Residents can select which section they wish to partake in when they pre-register.

Anyone unable to join the virtual town hall meetings may submit online feedback by Friday, Sept. 15, at helpandhopewv.org/odcp.

Substance Abuse Facility Grants Available in West Virginia

Residential treatment services for substance abuse will be offered in five additional West Virginia counties.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources announced the availability of $1 million in funding to expand treatment services in Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Nicholas and Roane counties.

The DHHR says in a news release it is accepting applications from vendors for existing or newly constructed facilities with treatment beds. Legislation passed last year mandates that DHHR allocate additional treatment beds to be operated by the private sector.

DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch says the expansion will help reduce overdose deaths and lower economic costs to the state. More than 30,000 West Virginians are already in drug treatment and the state has the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate.

West Virginia Apartments to House Women in Drug Treatment

Renovations have started on a building that will become apartments for women undergoing treatment for substance abuse in West Virginia.

Marshall University said in a news release Monday its health provider group, Marshall Health, and the Huntington City Mission have begun construction on the 15,000-square-foot building next to the mission.

Each of the 18 apartments will consist of up to three bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and kitchenette. They will enable women suffering from substance abuse to live with their children.

A grant from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is funding the program, called Project Hope for Women and Children. Marshall School of Medicine spokeswoman Sheanna Spence said the $2.8 million grant covers renovations and program expenses.

The statement says some services, including family therapy, will be provided on site while many others such as medication-assisted treatment will be in outpatient locations. The renovations are expected to be completed by October.

The project “will help residents put life skills into practice, give their children a sense of stability and teach them to raise their children in a way that promotes healthy habits early on,” said Dr. Stephen M. Petrany, chairman of the Marshall School of Medicine’s department of family and community health.

In a state of 1.8 million residents, more than 30,000 people are in drug treatment in West Virginia, which has the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate.

Two Substance Use Recovery Programs Getting a Financial Boost

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announced state funding is available for two substance abuse recovery programs.

Both the Collegiate Recovery (CRPs) and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs focus on helping adults who suffer from substance use disorders get their lives back on track.

$100,000 is available for CRPs. The program is expected to help expand access to recovery from addiction on state college or university campuses.

The other program, LEAD, focuses on guiding adults with substance use disorders away from the criminal justice system to community-based services instead.

LEAD allows public safety officials to work with behavioral health providers by diverting low-level drug offenders to treatment and support services, rather than jail and prosecution.

$600,000 is available for LEAD Programs in West Virginia.

Proposals for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Programs are due by June 5, 2018.

Proposals for Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) are due by June 8, 2018.

DHHR states funding will be awarded based on accepted proposals that meet all required criteria. Proposal details and requirements are available online: dhhr.wv.gov/bhhf/afa.

$21 Million to Fund Residential Addiction Treatment Programs in W.Va.

Nearly $21 million in state funding has been awarded to expand residential treatment services for substance abuse across West Virginia. The state Department of Health and Human Resources announced the funding Monday. Two of the programs are in Morgantown and two are in Parkersburg, with one apiece in Beckley, Culloden, Huntington, Martinsburg and Wheeling.